Review: Odd Hours
So, I’m not much of a reviewer. I’m terrible at criticism because I think “well, they worked hard…”, so it’s difficult to essentially shit all over something someone expended blood, sweat, and tears to make.
Not everything is good. But, no one sets out to make a shitty thing. In the case of Odd Hours by Wells Marston and Route 9 Games, a shitty thing was definitely not made. Imagine Clerks meets Cthulhu. Dante and Randall working the nightshift at a QuickStop in the middle of nowhere, facing weird customers who turn out to be creatures of the night or denizens serving the Old Gods. It’s horror, comedy, and absolute absurdity with a rules light approach that makes the game flow and focuses on the story.
I brought it up to the guys and it looks like we’re going to roll up characters, transport ourselves back to our lazy 20s, quote sooooo much Kevin Smith, and maybe fight a monster or two.
I can’t quite put my finger on why, but the concept as a whole thrusts me back 25 years to being in college, working at a pizza place in a pre-smartphone world, and spending our downtime sitting in an unoccupied booth, having absolutely ridiculous conversations which I’m sure included “What would you do if some cosmic horror walked through the door right now?” It seems like a game tailor made for my generation of slacker gamers.
The Rules
I should put titles to separate what I’m talking about, right? Yeah, probably. So, rules…
The rules are light and easy and lend themselves to the concept and subtitle of the game, “Horror and Absurdity”. Three attributes, a handful of skills, some very light magic-ish abilities that you only get in certain situations, and some rare real powers. Your character, much like in Call of Cthulhu, is on the brink of losing their sanity throughout the game. But, as an added mechanic, Absurdity points allow a balance to the sheer whatthefuckism of experiencing paranormal horror in the “real world”. The balance ebbs and flows and determines how your character acts and reacts.
We haven’t played yet, so I really don’t want to go too in depth on mechanics until after our session, but just based on my first read, the rules seem easy and fun and a perfect fit for the game.
While I’m mourning a session of our new Hackmaster campaign (we’re getting old and every session counts), I’m really stoked to take Odd Hours out for a spin. So, here’s to playing a 22 year old me, probably stoned at work, and probably half pumped/half terrified at the first sign of spookiness.
There’s a second edition (V2) on the way from Route 9. If I like this game as much as I think I’m going to, I already can’t wait to see what comes next.
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